Staying Curious

Out-loud Enthusiasm for Asking

This week, we bring you the voice of James Diers. James is a strategist, writer, researcher, and creative shapeshifter who thrives on collaborative problem-solving in complicated spaces.

“Stay curious.”

It’s a ruthlessly concise mantra. And somehow, it’s cropped up spontaneously in at least half a dozen unconnected conversations over the past month, to the point where I suspect some higher power may be trying to send me a bold-faced reminder.

I don’t really need reminding. Having logged many cumulative years in journalism, creative development, and varied flavors of experience strategy, I’m well acquainted with the value of a good question. Done right, it can lead to meaningful insight, spark fresh inspiration, bring focus where it’s needed, or cultivate more inclusive and enlightened ways of thinking.

Successfully solving any design problem — whether it’s about your brand, marketing, product, digital experience, or your business at large — always starts with thoughtful asking and exploring.

There’s no shortage of evidence showing how curiosity breeds growth, from org leadership and clinical psychology to social discourse and even racial self-examination. Yet when people present themselves in the context of a résumé or professional role, they’re far more likely to highlight answers they found at the end of some road (e.g., solutions they’ve devised, results they’ve generated) than a passionate capacity for questioning.

This is less true in design research, of course, where the ability to lead and/or execute smart discovery work hinges on out-loud enthusiasm for knowing what, who, how, and why to ask. But in the broader world of work, perhaps there’s room to elevate the value of applied curiosity and be more vocal about the persistent questions — not just tasks or topics — that energize us. Think about someone you claim to know well. How easily could you articulate the things they’re most curious about?

We’ve heard a lot this year about prompt engineering (the creation and refinement of queries for AI tools) as a valuable business discipline. To the extent that it stresses the importance of asking the right questions, maybe this is an indication that upstream skills on the path from curiosity to conclusion will be getting more deserved attention in the wider workforce. (Disclaimer: Let’s not rely solely on The Robots™ to make us more inquisitive.)

A Deloitte study from last year found that managers rate curiosity as “very valuable” among employee traits, even though their organizations aren’t so great at supporting or rewarding it. Maybe leaders are losing touch with classic examples of curiosity-breeding innovation, like the origin story of Velcro and how its founder couldn’t stop wondering how the burs stuck in his dog’s fur could be so f***ing tenacious.

Regardless of business case studies or job titles, it’s a fine time to be reminded how curiosity originates in the human mind, how wonderment is good for you, and how unpredictability begets its own sense of virtue at work as well as in our personal lives.

Among friends and colleagues, or just in your everyday travels, it’s worth asking yourself:

• What are you curious about?
• Which kinds of questions drive you forward?
• What sorts of shared wondering actually make you feel more connected to the people around you?

If your job finds you responsible for measuring other people’s performance, consider:

• How is applied curiosity rewarded in your org? What are the stakes?
• What negative effects might a lack of curiosity be having on your team or your business?
• What questions do you believe people in your org should care more about, and how might you get them interested?

If you’re interested in talking more about curiosity or how you can bring more curiosity into your work, you can contact James directly or join us this Friday for our virtual meet-up. Email hello@northomegroup.com for an invite.

James Diers is a strategist, writer, researcher, and creative shapeshifter who thrives on collaborative problem-solving in complicated spaces. Sometimes, he makes words and stories; other times, he helps teams navigate toward actionable insights and meaningful change. His work at agencies and consultancies has helped to create value for Fortune 100 brands as well as smaller organizations and intrepid startups.